Judge softens ban on DOGE access to Treasury Department data

A New York federal judge has partially walked back a ruling blocking President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive payment data at the Treasury Department.

U.S. District Judge Jeanette A. Vargas in a late-Friday opinion gave one DOGE staffer permission to access sensitive payment information at the Treasury Department. The worker, identified as Ryan Wunderly, will have to undergo the same training as other federal employees.

Wunderly will also be required to submit a financial disclosure report under the updated preliminary injunction.

The decision comes after a group of 19 Democratic state attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, sued the Trump administration in February asserting DOGE's access to the financial data was an invasion of privacy. In the lawsuit, the officials contended that political appointees should not have access to the records, which include Social Security and bank account numbers.

The commission — spearheaded by tech billionaire and senior adviser Elon Musk — argued at the time that access was necessary to modernize its payment systems amid the president's moves to overhaul the federal workforce and cut government spending.

In a previous opinion, Vargas kept intact restrictions put in place by a separate federal judge that barred political appointees and special government appointees — such as Musk — from accessing the private data. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other department leaders, whose roles required Senate confirmation, were notably exempt.

The decision marked a blow to the Justice Department, who pressed U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer to lift his ban — which was more extensive than the earlier agreement the administration reached to temporarily limit access to two DOGE personnel: Marko Elez and Tom Krause.

When Elez resigned after being linked to racist social media posts, the Trump administration announced Wunderly would take his place.

In a March filing to the case, the administration said Wunderly's expertise was “critical to the Treasury DOGE Team’s efforts," and said he had undergone proper training.

Elez has since been reinstated to DOGE.